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Watch Samsung's CES 2020 keynote in under eight minutes
Between CES and the upcoming Unpacked, at which it'll reveal its next flagship mobile devices, Samsung has already set itself up for a jam-packed year. Even before its keynote, Samsung was having a busy CES, having revealed several TVs, laptops (including a 4K Chromebook) and a Galaxy S10 Lite and Note 10 Lite in the leadup to the event. But it still had some things to showcase, including a spherical robot called Ballie Samsung suggests will be able to manage your smart home.
Samsung's 'Bots' and exoskeleton hint at the future of care
At Samsung's press conference, the day before CES officially opened, there was the usual parade of smart home gadgets and appliances. Then right at the end, almost as an aside, the company revealed potentially the most exciting products of the show: Three robots and a line of exoskeletons. Details were sparse, all we knew was that the there was a robot for the home, one for air purifying and another for retail situations. Can you guess which of the Bot Air, Bot Care and Bot Retail (as they are called) does which?
Watcher on Raid Consumables and Enchants in Warlords
One of the things that people concern themselves with when raiding progression is all the little things you can do to eke out just that extra little bit more. However, with the advent of Warlords of Draenor and its sweeping systems changes, stat squishes and ability pruning, there seems to be some confusion about what players will and won't be able to do to get that extra bit. Yes, reforging is gone, but Ion "Watcher" Hazzikostas assures us you will still be able to enchant and gem your gear. And also, raid consumables like food and flasks totally are going to be around in Warlords. What seems to be confusing people is that enchanting and gemming are getting a slim-down. There will be fewer enchant slots and gems on gear, but they're not going to be removed. @Slootbag They're consolidated into fewer slots, so you can wear more gear instantly, but each enchant you do have is more impactful. - Watcher (@WatcherDev) July 8, 2014 It's important to keep in mind that people will still have the ability to tweak and go for incremental performance increases in these ways. Some players may choose to use these on a frequent basis, but for the most part, it's expected that most players will be able to use more gear immediately on getting it with the new system.
Arcane Brilliance: Challenge mode tips for mages part 2
Every other week, WoW Insider brings you Arcane Brilliance for arcane, fire and frost mages. Stacey Landry is the resident mage here, bender of space and time, conjurer of delicious confectioneries and expert at dressing well while setting things on fire. This is part two of three challenge mode tips for mages articles. Click here to go back and read part one. This week we're going to look at getting your gear ready to dive into challenge modes! First, a few loose ends. I neglected to mention another reward for finishing gold CMs: Challenger's Path. This is a teleport on an 8 hour cooldown that will take you straight to the entrance of a CM you achieved a gold rating in! Once you complete any CM, the teleport cooldown resets. They're very handy for getting around Pandaria. Some mages left comments about doing gold CMs as arcane. That's great! If you have any CM-specific arcane questions, I'm sure they'd be happy to share some of their strategy in the comments this week. I'll still be assuming you are probably frost. Frost is the most accessible and easiest option for the average mage, but I didn't say it couldn't be done by another spec. The reason for this is that frost scales better than the other two specs at lower item levels. It will perform well for you and can put out some serious AoE damage. Most mages doing CMs use it. Finally, Adam Koebel posted an introductory challenge mode guide this week. It also includes links to recommended strat videos. HamletEJ's were the ones I used.
Warlords of Draenor: No primary stat gems
Technical Game Designer Chadd "Celestalon" Nervig has been tweeting recently about the changes to gems coming in Warlords. We already knew via his previous tweets that gem sockets on gear are very likely to appear by random bonus in the upcoming expansion, but what he's clarified today is that primary stats, so strength, intellect and agility, will no longer be gem-able: @Ady_Mx There are no more primary stat gems. Only secondary stat gems. - Celestalon (@Celestalon) December 29, 2013 This, as he also mentioned, relates to the gear changes in Warlords meaning that gear needs to be usable cross spec. Gems won't change between specs, so they would need to be secondaries only. He has also confirmed that tertiary stats won't be gemmed. What does this mean for Jewelcrafters going forward? Red gems with primary stats have always been the strongest sellers as demand for them is so high. It's possible that it will result in more even prices across the secondary stats, but we'll just have to wait and see. And while Celestalon hasn't confirmed this, it seems likely that primary stat enchants offering +intellect, +strength or +agility might also disappear, resulting in necessary changes for some profession bonuses. With the new gear system, secondary stat enchants, which are already the vast majority of enchants, make the most sense. As far as tertiaries go, he does mention that movement speed may remain on boots, but no further information was offered.
Guardians of Middle-Earth: A fun game doomed by its business model
The MOBA genre has exploded in recent years, with global giant League of Legends becoming the most actively played video game in the world and competitive tournaments getting more viewers than some televised sports. Today's MOBAs appeal to casual and competitive gamers alike, but until recently very few had crossed the console barrier. Released on PS3 and XBox 360 last December, Guardians of Middle-Earth took traditional DotA gameplay and made the quite experimental leap onto consoles. I'm not much of a console gamer (you can take my mouse and keyboard away when you pry them from my cold, dead hands), but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see how Guardians of Middle-Earth stacks up against its PC-based counterparts. Monolith Studios has done great things in adapting MOBA gameplay to a console control scheme and audience, and the core game really is a lot of fun to play. But in charging an initial purchase price for a game that relies on having a large community, publisher Warner Bros. may have accidentally consigned Guardians to the scrapheap. In this hands-on opinion piece, I explore Guardians of Middle-Earth and ask why it's already a ghost town just three months after launch.
Guild Wars 2 gems now available in plastic card form [Updated]
Guild Wars 2's Black Lion Trading Company offers more than just a way to buy and sell in-game items; it's also used to buy the game's currency known as gems. These gems can be bought and traded for real money and converted to in-game gold for the purchase of just about anything your Tyrian heart desires. But now ArenaNet is making it even easier to buy the in-game currency through gem cards available for purchase at your favorite retail store. These cards would be perfect as a gift from your grandmother or sweet aunt Vickie, who can help support your crafting obsession without even knowing it. Just tell them that you're really interested in Geology and Gemology. It's a win-win! [Update: ANet has just posted the complete list of retailers offering gem cards. In the US, they are Fred Meyer, Hasting, NewEgg, Fry's, and Amazon.]
Blood Pact: Enhancing your evil gear at 90
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Blood Pact for affliction, demonology, and destruction warlocks. This week, Megan O'Neill is pand-a-ren, every day. All the dailies. All of them. Especially the Golden Lotus ones. What enchants will help me hit hit cap? What will help me reach that haste breakpoint? How can I get more mastery? Should I gem for the socket bonus? What professions are best for warlocks? OK, I might be lazy or otherwise occupied with all the Lorewalkers scrolls to figure out which professions are best before the Elitist Jerks do. But I've put it off long enough and raiding won't wait: it's the consumables, enchants, and profession perks post.
EVE Evolved: Four ways Guild Wars 2 is like EVE Online
With its single-shard server structure and sandbox ruleset, EVE Online seems to have little in common with a sharded fantasy themepark like Guild Wars 2. But dig a little deeper past GW2's fluffy exterior and you'll find it shares some core game mechanics and ideas with the world's biggest PvP sandbox. GW2's Trading Post bears a striking resemblance to EVE's Jita 4-4 market, and many of the same market tricks that work in New Eden have proven just as effective in the land of Tyria. EVE's PLEX system lets people buy game time for in-game ISK and undercuts illicit RMT by giving players a legitimate way to buy ISK, a system that's very closely mirrored in GW2's gem trade. GW2's Karma system resembles a heavily restricted version of EVE's loyalty point mechanic, and PvP in both games may be more similar than it appears. The same strategies that work for faction warfare fleets in the depths of space are currently helping guilds win World vs. World vs. World PvP. In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at four Guild Wars 2 game mechanics that are similar to those in EVE Online and how lessons from EVE can be applied to GW2.
Street Fighter X Tekken adds costume and gem DLC on June 5
Before it patches the latest patch in Street Fighter X Tekken in mid-June, old blue-and-gold wants to sell you some more gems. On June 5, Capcom will make a bevy of new gems and the complete costume swap pack available for purchase.That doesn't mean there aren't freebies up for grabs. A new color palette and Wild Card booster pack – the latter is only available for download until June 19 – will debut alongside several new gem packs priced at 80 MS Points ($1) a pop. Finally, there's the complete swap costume pack to consider, which will set fightin' fashionistas back a hefty 1440 MS Points ($18).
Guild Wars 2 gem store goes (partially) online
One of the more controversial aspects of the upcoming Guild Wars 2 is its microtransaction system, the details of which were tightly under wraps until the recent NDA-free public beta weekend. Now that the public's had a look-see, ArenaNet brought its gem store out into the open for all to see. The browser version of the store, which is also available in the game itself, is only partially functional at the moment. While it does list the categories, items, and icons for its wares, it's lacking any prices, descriptions, or ability to purchase. It's worth a look if you want a first-hand view of the goods that ArenaNet hopes will power Guild Wars 2's profitability, of course. The categories include style, consumable, support, account, boosts, and minis. [Update: The gemstore has since been taken down.]
Street Fighter X Tekken update dropping tomorrow with new gems, replay analyzer
Now that the pesky sound issue in Street Fighter X Tekken's online modes has been taken care of, Capcom has time to focus on what really matters: More gems. A massive, massive batch of gems is to delivered to the game tomorrow via update, along with a "replay analyzer." It caught us off guard at first, because the analyzer's purpose/function is not described in the Capcom Unity announcement from which this news originates.Ater a little digging, however, we uncovered an official description of the feature, which describes it as "a tool that will show you various data from a replay." Ah, yes, of course. It all seems so obvious in hindsight. The full list of tomorrow's gems can be found beyond the veil.
It's time for spring cleaning!
Void storage was an amazing addition to WoW, as far as I'm concerned. I've gone from having absolutely no bag space to having about 20 slots free (give or take 10) at a time. As you can see from the screenshot above, however, I could use more space. It's not a major concern right now, mind you, but we're about to head into a new expansion, which means even more stuff to gather and squirrel away for a rainy day. While you might be spending your days dawdling in Dragon Soul or messing around with dungeons, the subject of an upcoming expansion is actually one you might want to turn your attention to. A new expansion isn't just more levels to play -- it's more items to collect, a new market of trade goods to delve into, and a host of game changes you may want to prepare for. Prepare for? Yes, absolutely. After playing through three separate expansions myself, I can tell you with certainty that preparing for an expansion before it's released will save you a lot of headaches in the long run.
Hello? Street Fighter X Tekken sound and gem patch drops April 10
The sound issues plaguing online play for Street Fighter X Tekken should be remedied with an update on April 10, Capcom has announced. The patch not only tackles the sound vacuum, but also addresses gem complaints -- specifically, how annoying it is to set up gem combinations right now.Users will be able to set gem combinations from the versus screen as opposed to having to go through each individual fighter and setting combinations that way. A demonstration of the new gem system, as well as an overview of the upcoming DLC schedule, can be seen in the above video from the folks at Capcom-Unity.
Making the 'jump' from Guild Wars to Guild Wars 2
The second Guild Wars 2 press beta weekend has come and gone, and Massively was there every step of the way. Stay tuned throughout the day today for even more guides, impressions, videos, and Q&As to get you ready for the highly anticipated sequel to Guild Wars. Guild Wars 2 is on the way (when it's ready), and classic Guild Wars players probably understand that soon they'll be competing with a younger sibling -- a smarter, more attractive one who's sure to get more of mom's attention. And while we're sure that some of the more stalwart Guild Wars 2 fans are also Guild Wars players, not all veterans of the first edition are dedicated to licking up every drop of sequel info squeezed out of blogs, conventions, and betas. Those veterans might just be wondering, what exactly can Guild Wars 2 offer them, other than Hall of Monuments tie-ins? What's changed? What's the same? What will they love, what will they hate, and what could possibly make them jump ship to the new hotness? The first and most important thing you must know is that yes, you can jump in Guild Wars 2! Seriously, though, jumping is more than just a thing you do with your spacebar when you're bored; it's a symbol of boundlessness. Guild Wars 2 itself is trying to jump a lot higher than its elder brother, and probably the essential difference between the games is that feeling that the walls have come down and gravity is letting loose. That alone should urge classic players to take a peek, but if that's not enough for you, fire up your Jeremy Soule soundtracks (yes, he's onboard for an encore!) and read on...
The Soapbox: The hidden perils of Guild Wars 2's microtransactions
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. The ArenaNet post about microtransactions in Guild Wars 2 reveals that the "gems" currency will be bought with real money and be available for purchase with in-game gold in GW2. But people seem to have forgetten that Runes of Magic's cash shop operated this way three years ago. I've been playing RoM since closed beta, and the cash shop is one of the reasons RoM is so different from other F2P MMOs of its era. Frogster eventually removed the ability to buy diamonds with gold because of fraud, so I'm curious to see how ArenaNet handles that issue. My time in RoM has shown me that there are other issues involved here, issues of security, players gaming the system, botting, and pay-to-win debates. In other words, there's more at stake here than whether cash shops sell gear or items toward gaining power.
ArenaNet expands on microtransactions in Guild Wars 2
ArenaNet has put up a new blog post with information about Guild Wars 2's cash shop system as well as some of the philosophy behind the game's microtransaction design. Mike O'Brien, ArenaNet president and Guild Wars 2 executive producer, started off the post by saying that the microtransaction system will be part of this month's closed beta event, then went on to talk about the hows and whys of the system. ArenaNet's approach is this: Microtransactions are run on a currency of gems, which are purchased with physical-world money and traded in various quantities for the goods and account services available. Players also have the option of trading their purchased gems for in-game gold -- and purchase gems with in-game gold. "If you want something, whether it's an in-game item or a microtransaction, you ultimately have two ways to get it: you can play to earn gold or you can use money to buy gems. We think that's important, because it lets more players participate on a level playing field, whether they use their free time or their disposable income to do it." As to the micro-transaction items themselves, O'Brien steered away from specifics. He mentioned things like visual distinction and expression as well as account services (which we saw plenty of in the original Guild Wars) and "time-saving convenience items" while adding that ArenaNet is opposed to the idea of requiring players to spend cash in order to maintain an even playing field.
Capcom lays out Street Fighter X Tekken DLC schedule and pricing
While we all await Capcom's plan to address a number problems with Street Fighter X Tekken -- the absence of online couch co-op in the Xbox 360 version; the sound, infinite combo and lag issues that persist online -- the company has laid out plans for DLC, both free and premium.On April 3, alternate costumes go on sale, allowing SF characters to dress up like Tekken people and vice versa. Each costume will set you back 80 MS Points ($1) each, or 1040 MS Points ($13) each for all SF or all Tekken fighters. Also, Capcom will release some free colors for customization and three new quick combo slots for each fighter.After the April stuff, Capcom will release a free tournament support update that makes it easier to select gems at the character select screen through some kind of "dial system." Following that is a title update that will add "three new Assist Gem packs and six new Boost Gem packs, which add over 60 gems to the selection pool," Capcom-Unity reports. Each character will also get three more customizable gem sets, bringing the total up to five for each fighter.Finally, those 12 characters coming to consoles after the Vita version of Street Fighter X Tekken launches are priced as a set at 1600 MS Points ($20). It'll be available later this year.
Ono: Fighting games should have more customization, user creation
Yoshinori Ono is the Grand Poobah of all things Street Fighter these days, and it would be hard to pinpoint a single person who currently has more of an impact on the direction of the fighting game genre than he does. That direction, it turns out, looks an awful lot like some of the changes implemented in Street Fighter X Tekken, namely the Gem system and everything it stands for."For future titles I want to keep having this concept of, my character is different than your character," Ono said during an interview with Eurogamer. "In fighting games, the only difference between me and you is how good I am. But what I want to do with fighting games from now on is add in that element of customisation [sic], where I can have a Ryu that's different than your Ryu, so we can compete on a different level than just our execution."Ono envisions a future where players can modify their characters on a deeper level than SFxT's Gem system allows for. "It would be like, the Ryu that Yoshinori Ono made is the best, or the Ryu that other guy made sucks." Ono did not go into any specifics regarding future titles, but it's clear that he wants to steer the Street Fighter series away from the character selection screen and toward the stat tree.
Addon Spotlight: Gear levels at a glance with iLvLr
Each week, WoW Insider's Mathew McCurley brings you a fresh look at reader-submitted UIs as well as Addon Spotlight, which focuses on the backbone of the WoW gameplay experience: the user interface. Everything from bags to bars, buttons to DPS meters and beyond -- your addons folder will never be the same. One of the best ways for addon developers or fans of addon developers to get their addon some attention is to have it featured here on Addon Spotlight. If you're a developer who wants to see your addon in the spotlight or you're a friend of a developer looking to do your buddy a solid because of that thing you did in Cabo three years ago with the guy's on-again, off-again love interest, send me an email at mat@wowinsider.com and tell me to feature the addon. I try to read all my email, and you'll most likely have the experience JerichoHM did. Some time ago, I covered Skill Helper, an addon that was sent to me by its creator, JerichoHM, that made missing a skill point because of forgetting to train a thing of the past. Now, Jericho sends me another email discussing his newest addon called iLvLr, which adds new information about an item's ilevel and durability percentage to the character pane. Addons that add to the already existing user interface are some of my favorites, since I don't have to clutter up the screen with new pictures, boxes, and other crud.
